Driver Of Booze-And-Drug Laden Marin Teen Party Bus Charged
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) -- The driver of a party bus allegedly carrying drugs, alcohol and 33 teenagers was charged Wednesday in Marin County Superior Court with six misdemeanor offenses and three infractions.
63-year-old San Francisco resident James Franklin Greene was charged with misdemeanor transporting a person under age 21 in a charter-party carrier containing alcoholic beverages, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, and carrying a switch blade knife in a motor vehicle.
The infractions were possession and storage of an open container of alcohol and possession of marijuana while driving.
Central Marin Police Authority officers pulled the 45-passenger bus over shortly after it left the Larkspur Ferry Terminal parking lot around 5:40 p.m. Monday.
An anonymous caller tips cops off to what was on board.
"We found 30 bottles of hard alcohol, a case of Mike's Hard Lemonade and a jar of marijuana," Central Marin Police Authority spokesperson Margo Rohrbacher.
Police said they also found empty and partially consumed alcoholic beverages and prescription drugs.
Greene did not enter a plea Wednesday and will return to court Friday afternoon, Assistant Marin County District Attorney Barry Borden said. He was denied release on his own recognizance and is being held in the Marin County Jail.
The teens are all between the ages of 15 and 17. They're residents of Larkspur, Tiburon, San Rafael, San Anselmo, Kentfield and Mill Valley, police said.
Greene told police he was taking the students to their parents and was not aware of alcohol on board, according to Rohrbacher.
The 16-year-old Tiburon boy rented the bus online and had a $900 cash payment that did not change hands before police arrived, Rohrbacher said.
KPIX 5 spoke with a teen who said he knows the 16-year-old boy who rented the bus.
"I guess its good they got busted so quick, because then they wouldn't have known about the guy with all the stuff," said the teen.
The 16-year-old rented the bus from Fantastic Voyage Express Transportation.
"I guess they thought it was a fun idea. They wanted to get a party bus because there's been a lot of them lately and they just wanted to go have fun," the teen explained.
One 16-year-old female was charged with possession of a controlled substance, marijuana and fake ID's. All the other kids were sent home with their parents, who in some cases exacted their own punishment.
"I know a bunch of kids that are grounded now," the teen told KPIX 5.
